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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Letter to my Friends

By Daniel Davies12/26/07

Dear Friends,

Over the last month or two, Mike Huckabee's astounding rise in national and early-voting-state polls has been the focus of much discussion. Apparently, this rise is in large part attributed to evangelical Christians in general and homeschoolers in particular. As an unabashed member of these groups, I feel an obligation to inform my fellow evangelical homeschoolers. I realize that Mr. Huckabee has been endorsed by Michael Farris of HSLDA and PHC. But I also know from Dr. Farris that it was due to Huckabee being so bold and eloquent when speaking about his faith that apparently Dr. Farris was sold on him on the spot. I fear that this is the case with many Christians and homeschoolers. They are supporting Huckabee because of how out-front he is about his faith, and because of some key endorsements he has received from religious leaders.

Unfortunately, there is much more to Mike Huckabee than this. His 10-year record of governance, and even his current policies, are a mixed bag of some good and an equal or greater amount of bad. I am very supportive of Christians running for office and being very open about their faith in doing so; in fact, I believe that assisting Christian leaders in the political process is God's life calling for me. There is a point at which, however, a candidate crosses the line from his faith guiding his policies and campaign to one where his faith is his campaign; I believe Mike Huckabee has crossed this line and is using his faith for political purposes. His policies on Homosexuality and abortion are strong, and I applaud him for that. On fiscal, foreign affairs, immigration, crime, and other policy issues, as well as ethics, however, he has a very poor record/current policy statement.

The mainstream media has been fairly positive in its coverage of Huckabee for most of this year, based on his media-friendly nature, eloquence and humor in his speeches, and perhaps a fascination with the faith so many in the media don't understand. As he has risen in the polls, the media realized that he could actually stand a chance of winning the nomination, and have begun examining him seriously in an attempt to prevent such a dedicated evangelical from taking the White House. Notably, the DNC has refrained from attacking Huckabee much because they see his record makes him easily defeatable in the general election.

For the sake of disclosure, I am wholeheartedly supporting Fred Thompson's campaign, as I have since long before he announced his candidacy. He has a consistent pro-life, limited government, federalist, and pro-military record. He was also the first candidate to offer solid, detailed policy proposals for immigration, tax reform, social security reform, and other critical issues facing our nation today.

Please read my “Tale of Two Candidates” essay and the links below to learn a few of the reasons why I favor Fred Thompson over Mike Huckabee. Thank you for your time, and may God bless you in the new year to come!

"If a man gains the whole world, and loses his own soul, what does it profit him?"Apparently about $10,000. This is the amount of money Huckabee accepted from the owners of two gambling racetracks in AR after signing two of his often-touted 94 tax cuts: targeted tax exemptions for those two tracks worth $2,300,000http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2006/09/kaching_1.aspx